4 things the Paris Climate Change Agreement mean for your business

On December 12, 2015, history was made when 195 countries adopted a new universal, legally binding global climate deal in Paris.

The key aspects of the Agreement are:

• To keep global temperatures "well below" 2°C and "endeavor to limit" them to 1.5°C

• To review each country's contribution to cutting emissions in 2018 and every five years thereafter, set more ambitious targets as may be dictated by science and report on how they are implementing targets agreed to date

• All developed countries will provide"climate finance" (US $100 billion per year) to the poorest countries to help them adapt to climate change and support low carbon development

So what does this mean for you, as a business?

1. More climate laws: Governments will now be required to review their climate strategies and policies . Increased regulation from your Government will lead to regulatory changes impacting your business. National climate-change policies will change, and they will change fast, making it difficult for businesses to stay on top of regulatory compliance. Compliance management and regulatory knowledge are key. Be proactive and stay ahead of regulatory changes by subscribing to a comprehensive compliance alerts solution.
2. Environmental due diligence: The provision of accurate information to prospective investors who want to ensure that they are investing in environmentally friendly, low carbon companies is crucial.  Companies, their suppliers, and indeed their suppliers’ suppliers need to know that their supply chain is both safe and sustainable.
3. Get your house in order: Assess how climate change impacts your business and make decisions to protect your business against climate risks. How do your policies align with the Paris agreement? Have you started to reduce your carbon emissions? What are your clean energy goals? Are you ready for carbon pricing?  Do you have a climate adaptation strategy?
4. Lobbying: Build your network of contacts with governmental and non-governmental officials in order to lobby for greater climate action.  Membership of non-profit organizations such as Business Social Responsibility (BSR), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Ceres, can help you advocate a sustainable economic future through liaising with like-minded companies, investors and public interest group.

As Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said “The Paris Agreement… sends a powerful signal to the many thousands of cities, regions, businesses and citizens across the world already committed to climate action that their vision of a low-carbon, resilient future is now the chosen course for humanity this century.”

Following the adoption of the Paris Agreement, it will be deposited at the UN in New York and opened for one year for signature on April 22, 2016. The agreement will then enter into force after 55 countries, that account for at least 55% of global emissions, have deposited their instruments of ratification.